Every wine needs a purpose. So what is the "purpose" of Saint-Joseph?
Is it just some kind of "alternative" to the more famous AOCs of Cornas, Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage?
A Northern Rhône for someone who can't afford the big names?
Actually, in part at least, why not? I've found myself studying restaurant wine lists and wandering down to the Saint-Josephs after deciding that the Côte-Rôties are too expensive. There's nothing wrong with that.
But good Saint-Joseph — and there is a lot of good Saint-Joseph — offers much more than a cheaper substitute. Its greatest wines are special in their own right. They come from terroirs that are distinct, though similar, to the great terroirs of the famous AOCs.
Some of them reach heights equal to the greatest wines in the Northern Rhône. The market has recognized this: there is now (one) Saint-Joseph that sells for more than Lafite Rothschild.
Even putting aside those special wines, Saint-Joseph is able to offer something unique: a Northern Rhône Syrah that typically offers more drinkability, more vibrancy, and more liveliness than its famous cousins.
Whether at the serious or casual end of the spectrum, Saint-Joseph offers a lot of diversity. The vineyards cover a series of different hills with slightly varying soil types, and there are lots of different producers taking slightly different approaches in the cellar. The point of this guide is to help you navigate.
What I like most about Saint-Joseph
On top of everything I've said above — and in large part because of it — the thing I like most about Saint-Joseph is that it accords perfectly with my philosophy of keeping a Reasonable Cellar.
Regular readers will know what I'm talking about: a cellar that isn't about chasing the latest trophies that are being hyped by everyone; a cellar that isn't filled with glacially aging wines that won't offer anything to drink for twenty years; a cellar that doesn't cost a ton of money. Instead, a Reasonable Cellar is stocked with wines in the $25-$70 range that will be mostly ready to drink in three to seven years. The wines are high in quality but rarely over-hyped and thinly allocated.
Saint-Joseph is a fantastic source for wines just like that.
They almost all cost under $60 and they almost all can keep for three to seven years and rarely need any more than that. A tiny number of Saint-Josephs are strictly allocated, but the vast majority are not. Along with regions like the Loire, the Mosel, Barbaresco, Chianti, and Campania, I regard Saint-Joseph to be one of the very top hunting grounds for a Reasonable Cellar.
Saint-Joseph Basics
Before moving forward, let's back up and give all the key must-know facts:
- Saint-Joseph is an appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) located in the Northern Rhône region of southern France.
- It can be red or white.
- Red wines must be made at least 90% from Syrah, with up to 10% Marsanne or Roussanne. In practice, red Saint-Joseph is generally 100% Syrah.
- The red wines — about 90% of production — are classic Northern Rhône Syrahs. They can have notes of meat and spice, with fruit registers that range from red to blue to black.
- Most reds can be approached on release but benefit from short-term cellaring. A few special bottlings can age for decades and rival great Côte-Rôtie or Hermitage.
- White wines can be any combination of Marsanne and Roussanne.
- The whites are full-bodied, floral, a bit nutty, and mineral — and increasingly serious. For details on Saint-Joseph Blanc and the rest of the Northern Rhône whites, see our complete guide to the white wines of the Northern Rhône.
Saint-Joseph: The Big Picture, and What Distinguishes It
Saint-Joseph is a long snake of a wine region that hugs the Rhône river on its west side. The vines grow on slopes that sprawl down toward the river, facing mostly east. The soils here are almost all granite: none of the alpine glacial influences you get across the river in Hermitage or Crozes-Hermitage, none of the schist you get in large parts of Côte-Rôtie, and very little of the sand or limestone you find in Cornas to the south.
The simple, somewhat generalized point to remember is this: Saint-Joseph is Syrah grown on east-facing slopes with granite soils. Period.
What about Crozes-Hermitage… isn't that sort of the same thing?
It's not a crazy question. Crozes-Hermitage is the "other" AOC that offers decent Northern Rhône Syrah for a fraction of the price of Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie or Cornas.
Crozes lies across the Rhône on the east side. Its soils are more alluvial and have more glacial deposits, without the granite that dominates Saint-Joseph. This means Crozes is generally less tannic than Saint-Joseph.
In the great Northern Rhône hierarchy, I'd put Crozes behind Saint-Joseph. If one of the region's big négociants offers both, the Crozes will invariably be cheaper. There are exceptions — Graillot's Crozes (now produced by Maxime Graillot following his father Alain's death in 2022) and Jaboulet's Thalabert are both excellent. But for the most part, Saint-Joseph is the better wine. I cover Crozes in more detail in our Hermitage guide.
Is it true that Saint-Joseph is too big?
Saint-Joseph is a long, thin AOC that stretches up the western bank of the Rhône from Cornas, at its southern end, to Condrieu, at the north.
It's about 40 miles long — long enough that when you drive its minor highways you'll occasionally pause and think: is this really still Saint-Joseph? The drive takes you through 26 different villages, more than in the entire Côte de Beaune and its cluster of 30 or so AOCs (which has just 16 villages), and far more than Côte-Rôtie, which has only three. Another way to think about this: grapes at the southern end are often ready to harvest a full week before grapes at the top. I wonder if that's true in any other AOC in France.
So is it too big? This seems to be the first point many commentators make. They recall a simple history: back in 1956, when the Saint-Joseph AOC was invented, it covered only six villages. Now we are at 26. Clearly there's been expansion, and often to vineyard sites that don't share all that much in common with those that lie in the original six.
Yes, it's probably too big. An AOC is a brand, and the consumer is supposed to know roughly what's in the bottle from the brand name. The AOC system is far from perfect, but it's fair to say Saint-Joseph has more variation than most. Also, a lot of the new land doesn't even have a history of viticulture — many farmers have grubbed up their apricots on the flatlands and planted vines. I'm not convinced those sites will ever produce great wines.
That's not to say good Saint-Joseph only comes from the six original villages. There are other sectors that produce truly great wine, and most of the rest of Saint-Joseph produces wine that is at least decent. The next part of this guide sorts that out.
A Tour of Saint-Joseph
Saint-Joseph is named for a single vineyard found near Tournon, one of the "original six" villages of the AOC and the main town in this part of the world. Tournon sits right on the Rhône. Cross the river on a short bridge and you are in Tain-l'Hermitage, with the great hill of Hermitage looming above. Or walk less than three miles south and you're in Cornas. It's not surprising that great Syrah can grow here.
Saint-Joseph is easiest to think of in two zones, a southern zone around Tournon, and a northern zone covering the rest of the AOC. The southern zone has older and more solid granite. The north also has granite, but it is younger and looser. The other major difference is temperature: the south, being further south, is slightly warmer, and grapes here manage to ripen several days earlier.
In both north and south, the vineyards tend to be planted on hillsides that face east. This is in contrast to the great south-facing sites of Hermitage. Ripening mostly from the cool morning sun, this accounts for the energy and liveliness that is the signature of Saint-Joseph Syrah. It also means that historically, anyway, it was harder to ripen grapes here, so it was Hermitage (south-facing), then Côte-Rôtie (southeast-facing), then Cornas (also east-facing but further south and therefore warmer) that got all the attention first.
Historically, the greatest Saint-Josephs have come from the south. That's where the original six villages are. But the north also has many excellent terroirs producing long-lived Saint-Joseph, though they do tend to be a little less structured, less ripe, more peppery, more herbaceous, and blacker-fruited.
The Southern Zone
Of the six historic Saint-Joseph villages — all located in the southern zone — the ones to know are (1) Tournon, (2) Mauves, and (3) Saint-Jean-de-Muzols.
Mauves is the closest to Cornas and the most famous. The fame of Mauves is partly thanks to its current crop of well-known producers — Gonon, Chave, Coursodon and Gripa — a group I've called the "Gang of Mauves" (I feel like I didn't invent that, yet I can't find any other sources referring to this name…). But Mauves' lofty reputation goes way back. Jonathan Livingstone-Learmonth in his great guide to the Northern Rhône points out that Victor Hugo refers to "ce bon vin de Mauves" in Les Misérables. Indeed, according to JLL, the wines of Mauves fetched double the price of Cornas in Hugo's day. Call me crazy, but I find this sort of thing thrilling.
Mauves and Tournon are directly adjacent and quite similar, though Mauves has a touch more clay. The Gang of Mauves farms vineyards in both villages. North of Tournon, the hills break into a valley, and the vineyards take a short break before hitting Saint-Jean. The granite here is already a touch looser, and the hills above protect it from the northern winds.
Some sites in Saint-Jean face more south than east — unusual for Saint-Joseph — and you are closer to Hermitage here than anywhere else in the AOC. It is in this village that legendary producer Raymond Trollat made his Saint-Joseph. Gonon now owns the vines and occasionally releases a Vieilles Vignes cuvée that trades for astronomical prices. Saint-Jean is also home to Ste. Épine, a vineyard name you will occasionally find on good bottles, and to the vines of the newer cult name Bastien Jolivet.
Keep heading north and you get to two of the other villages of the original six, none of which figure significantly today, plus a couple of other minor villages. Then you reach Sarras, around where the southern zone ends and the northern zone begins.
The Northern Zone
While none of the northern villages are very famous, you do hear about a few of them every now and then.
It's also possible that this zone's reputation will improve, relatively speaking, in the future. Global warming is pushing up temperatures and this area might become more ideal for perfect grape ripening than further south. Also, this being a more recent part of the AOC, most vines were planted in the 1980s or later. The wines should gain depth as the Syrah vines get into their 40s and 50s.
A number of well-known Saint-Joseph producers — including many covered in my recommendations below — operate in the northern zone. That's because both zones have quite a bit of internal variation, and there are bits of the north that produce top-class Syrah.
Heading north, you quickly come to Saint-Désirat, home to top producer Monier-Perreol, who releases several single-vineyard bottlings that showcase the village's excellent and varied terroirs. Then there is Charnas, known to produce excellent white wine. But it's not until you reach Saint-Joseph's far north that you arrive in the zone's best-known village: Chavanay.
It's well-known partly because it's the sub-zone's commercial center, and partly because it's the closest area to Condrieu and Côte-Rôtie further north, so some famous names from those more northerly AOCs also work here. There are slopes in Chavanay that can produce both Condrieu from Viognier and Saint-Joseph from Syrah. Aside from that, there is a solid group of very respectable winemakers in the surrounding hills.
Really, in this part of Saint-Joseph, you probably want to pay more attention to individual producers than to villages.
Stars of Saint-Joseph: Top Producers
One of the exciting things about Saint-Joseph is that it is one of those regions that is just frothing with new producers, generational changes, and experimentation. I'll organize the recommendations the way I did in the first edition: classic producers in the south, classic producers in the north, natural-wine producers, and newer names to watch — with a few important additions in each category.
Classic Producers from the Historic Villages in the Southern District
Trollat
Cornas has Verset; Côte-Rôtie has Gentaz. Trollat is the Saint-Joseph version — a super-traditional producer whose last release was now well over a decade ago and whose wines now fetch incredible sums on the secondary market. Of those three producers, Trollat's wines are actually hardest to find. He made his wines from very old vines in Saint-Jean-de-Muzols. Gonon now has his vines and his Vieilles Vignes bottling that emerges from them.
Gonon
Widely considered the greatest producer of Saint-Joseph today. The Gonon brothers — Pierre and Jean, fourth generation — run the domaine from Mauves. They have been organically farming since 2004 (certified 2010). The Trollat parcel in Saint-Jean produces their Vieilles Vignes bottling, released only in some years, and now easily the most sought-after Saint-Joseph (bottles often trade above $1,000 in the secondary market). Even their regular Saint-Joseph has gone cult and is hard to find.
In 2024 the domaine inaugurated a dedicated whites cellar — a meaningful signal that Les Oliviers (their Marsanne) and the Saint-Joseph Blanc are now getting the same attention as the reds. Expect those whites to climb steadily in profile. (You might find old bottles of "Les Oliviers" that are actually red. I even have a couple bottles in my own cellar. That's because Gonon produced Syrah in this vineyard for decades before determining that the site is more suited for white wine production.)
Chave
Chave is most famous for his Hermitage, but he is a member of the Gang of Mauves and he takes his Saint-Joseph very seriously. Saint-Joseph is actually where he lives. He now produces three different Saint-Joseph reds: the négoce Saint-Joseph Offerus, which is easy to find and always a terrific bargain; and two domaine Saint-Joseph reds — the regular domaine bottling, and Clos Florentin (acquired by Chave in 2009). Both domaine wines are very high in quality and hard to find — I don't think any merchant gets more than 3-6 bottles of Clos Florentin.
He also makes a Saint-Joseph Blanc called "Circa" — technically négoce, but the fruit is entirely from the domaine, and Jean-Louis has said it may eventually be upgraded to a full domaine wine. For now it's an incredible bargain. See the whites guide for more.
Gripa
Gripa is the "third" member of the Gang of Mauves, though the least well-known. They too craft traditional Saint-Joseph from old sites in and around Mauves. Look for their "Berceau" (French for cradle), produced from ancient vines in Saint-Joseph — the vineyard site in Mauves that gives the AOC its name. There is both a red and a white Berceau, and the white may be the greatest white in the whole AOC. Run today by Fabrice Gripa, who took over from his father Bernard in 2001.
Coursodon
This Mauves producer has historically taken a slightly more modern approach to Saint-Joseph, with some new oak. Now run by Jérôme Coursodon, who has dialed back the new oak from his father's era. The story is otherwise similar to the other great Mauves names: plenty of old vines in great places. Le Paradis Saint-Pierre remains the flagship; Silice the everyday red.
Domaine Jean-Claude Marsanne
In Mauves, with old vines worked by hand and pickaxe on the steep slopes. Jean-Claude took over from his father Jean in 1991; his daughters are now involved (the domaine sometimes labels as Jean-Claude Marsanne et Filles). 9.6 hectares across Saint-Joseph reds and whites plus a touch of Crozes. Classical style, great value. A name to know if you want serious Mauves Syrah outside the Gang.
Classic Producers from the Northern District
Bécheras
Bécheras straddles the two districts, with vines in Vion (one of Saint-Joseph's original six villages, but not one you hear about much). Most of their vines are just north of there in Arras, so it's in this section of the list. Interesting terroir on steep, rocky terraced sites, some bearing limestone soils (not at all common in Saint-Joseph). Top-quality producer making classical Saint-Joseph.
Monier-Perreol
A partnership formed in 2008 between two family domaines (hence the hyphenated name). Specialists who produce a range of single-vineyard cuvées from the higher-altitude sites around Saint-Désirat. Early adopters of biodynamic farming. Big fan.
Yves Cuilleron
All the way to the northern end of the AOC in Chavanay, where Cuilleron is the best-known producer. Extensive range of bottlings from vines in and outside Chavanay, including a number of delightful IGP wines from just outside Saint-Joseph's official boundaries. The top wines are from old vines in Chavanay. The style is not too modern, not too traditional — just clean and pure. Yves's son Edgar has now taken over winemaking.
Lionel Faury
Another Chavanay estate and one dear to my heart. The wines speak to me with upfront, easy-going personality but also a sneaky depth that seems to permit medium- and long-term aging. The VV is a very special Saint-Joseph and remains a bargain for under $50 when you can find it. Top traditionalist in Chavanay. Lionel took over from his father Philippe in 2006.
Pierre-Jean Villa
One of the most exciting new-generation producers in the Northern Rhône. Villa makes wines across Saint-Joseph, Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, and Crozes; his Saint-Josephs (look for "Préface" and "Tildé") have become particular favorites of mine. The style sits in a sweet spot between traditional structure and modern fruit purity. We are particularly excited to be hosting an event with Pierre-Jean this year — keep an eye on the newsletter.
François Villard
A multi-AOC producer based in Saint-Michel-sur-Rhône who is now firmly established. Best known for Condrieu, but makes very good Saint-Joseph as part of an extensive range. Style is approachable, well-priced, well-made.
Gilles Barge
Barge is really a Côte-Rôtie producer, but they make such a good Saint-Joseph that I have to mention it here. He produces a Saint-Joseph from a clos in Chavanay that he treats like his Côte-Rôtie, aging the wine in old barrels for 16 months. A great deal but not around very often — grab it when you can.
Natural-Wine Producers
Saint-Joseph is a region of experimentation and is the hottest center for natural-wine production within the Northern Rhône. Below are the key names — three from the original guide plus three new arrivals that have established themselves since.
Hervé Souhaut
Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet (better known by Hervé's name) is located just outside Saint-Joseph but has old-vines holdings in two very good sites in Saint-Jean-de-Muzols: Sainte-Épine and the Clos de Cessieux. The wines are incredibly drinkable, thanks to minimal tannic extraction and sulfur. Some of my favorite natural wines from anywhere. Hervé's daughter Ludivine — whom you may have met when she interned at our NYC shop a few years back — is now active at the estate. While I do not generally consider myself a natural wine guy, this estate came close to converting me…
Ferme des Sept Lunes
Operating in the hilltop town of Bogy, just north of Saint-Désirat. This small estate maintains a patchwork of vineyard plots a bit like a garden. The wines may seem a little less "natural" because they are more structured with a more classic profile, but sulfur additions are minimal (in some bottlings, zero) and farming is very natural and polycultural.
Dard et Ribo
Really a Crozes-Hermitage producer, but they have such good holdings in southern Saint-Joseph — including 70-year-old vines in Tournon — that they need a mention here. The cultiest of the Northern Rhône's natural-wine producers; allocations are extremely tight.
Domaine de l'Iserand
A relatively new name (started 2011) but already a serious one. Jean-François "Jef" Malsert was a wine-bar proprietor in Tournon before founding his own estate on the old-vine parcels he inherited from his grandfather. Four hectares, certified organic, practicing biodynamic, minimal sulfur, ageing in neutral demi-muids and amphorae. His two parcellaire cuvées are Sabot des Coppi and Lou Taïssou. The style is the perfect fusion of new-wave and classic, with spicy, ripe, generous fruit and a clear-cut mineral edge. Production is around 200-400 cases of each cuvée.
Domaine Rouchier
Martine and Christian Rouchier farm just 2.7 hectares in Saint-Jean-de-Muzols. Founded in 2006, with their first vintage bottled in 2013. Certified organic and biodynamic since 2015, fully without added sulfur. The cuvées ("Luc" Saint-Joseph and "Antraigue" Syrah VdF) are produced in minute quantities, but the wines have rapidly gained "unicorn" status globally. Grab them when you can.
Newer Names to Watch
Aurélien Chatagnier
In the northern sector of Saint-Joseph, south of Chavanay, there is still land with good terroir cheap enough that with patience and luck you can start your own domaine. That's what Chatagnier did, after studying in Burgundy and with Côte-Rôtie producer Villard. A somewhat Burgundian take on Saint-Joseph, with a focus on elegance and fruit purity. Once an exciting new name — now established.
Bastien Jolivet
Jolivet was the producer who was new to me in 2020 and has only gotten stronger since. He withdrew from the local cooperative in 2014 to bottle his own wines. His holdings are in Saint-Jean-de-Muzols and include vines over 100 years old. Winemaking is great and quite traditional. Tight allocations now; press has been strong.
The Future of Saint-Joseph
In 2015, Eric Asimov, writing for The New York Times, said that Saint-Joseph was the "next best wine in the Northern Rhône." A decade later, his prediction has largely come true.
Hermitage was the historically recognized "best wine."
Then people discovered the beautifully elegant Côte-Rôtie.
Meanwhile, Cornas was dismissed as a "country" wine — until we discovered Noël Verset.
Now it is Saint-Joseph that may take its place among the greats.
The reasons to believe so are straightforward enough. Terroir-wise, Saint-Joseph has all the granite of top Hermitage — remember that top sites in the southern, historic sector of Saint-Joseph lie just across the bridge from that famous hill.
The biggest difference is orientation. Hermitage vineyards face south. Côte-Rôtie lies more typically southeast. Saint-Joseph tends to face east. That makes it slightly harder to ripen grapes. It all flows from the path of the river.
That's probably why Saint-Joseph has been behind the other AOCs in reputation. Cornas is also an east-facing site and it, too, was historically behind in reputation — until Verset's wines elevated its stature. (Cornas is also slightly warmer, being further south.)
But now we have a confluence of two big forces.
One is global warming. Saint-Joseph today is as warm as Cornas used to be. Soon — maybe already — those east-facing orientations are going to be seen as a plus, mitigating the higher temperatures.
The other is people: more buzz, more innovation, more experimentation, more new producers, more generational change-overs in Saint-Joseph than elsewhere in the Northern Rhône. It's a true hotbed, and the excellent results show in producers like Iserand, Rouchier, and the established next-generation names at Gonon, Faury, Coursodon, and Cuilleron. More are sure to come.
Whether Saint-Joseph ever becomes the "best wine" in the Northern Rhône is open. But the future is very bright.
Recent Vintages
- 2019 — powerful and ripe. Saint-Joseph wines have plenty of substance and are starting to come into drinking windows now.
- 2020 — a strong vintage across the board. Saint-Joseph offers both fruit and freshness. Drinking now for 12+ years.
- 2021 — a cool, classical vintage. Excellent, vibrant, lower-alcohol Saint-Joseph; the whites are especially strong.
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2022 — hot and dry. Some lighter wines from the warmest sectors; the cooler Chavanay sites fared better. Drink earlier.
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2023 — fresh, balanced, open early. Among the best of the recent vintages for Saint-Joseph; the wines are very approachable.
- 2024 — the wettest year on record. Light, vibrant, aromatic Saint-Josephs for early-medium drinking. Whites are particularly strong.
Drink Tonight, Cellar for Tomorrow
For decades the "purpose" of Saint-Joseph was straightforward: it was the Northern Rhône you opened tonight. Côte-Rôtie was for the cellar. Hermitage was for the wedding. Saint-Joseph was for Tuesday's roast chicken.
That role is very much intact, and it is still the reason Saint-Joseph belongs in any wine-drinker's regular rotation. There are very few wines in the $25–$50 range that deliver the satisfaction of a young Saint-Joseph with a plate of grilled lamb or a Sunday stew. Keep buying Chave's Offerus, Faury’s basic bottling and the like, and drink them. They are the accessible Northern Rhône. That's what they are for.
But something else is happening now. Some of the great Saint-Josephs of today may very well be regarded, twenty years from now, as the great Hermitage of yesterday.
Look at what is happening. Gonon's Vieilles Vignes trades for over $1,000 a bottle on the secondary market. Chave's Clos Florentin is rationed at three to six bottles per merchant in the U.S. Jolivet, Iserand, Rouchier are producing tiny quantities of serious wine that gets harder to find every year. The east-facing slopes that Saint-Joseph was once "stuck with" are now, in a warming climate, an advantage. The terroirs of the southern, original-six villages share the same granite as the great south-facing slopes across the river. And the new generation of vignerons in Saint-Joseph has more talent, more ambition, and more capital than the last.
I'm not going to predict that Saint-Joseph will overtake Hermitage. Hermitage is Hermitage; the hill is the hill. But the gap between the very best Saint-Joseph and the merely-great Hermitage is closing fast — and there has never been a better moment to bet on Saint-Joseph as a cellaring proposition.
So here is the two-track recommendation. Drink Saint-Joseph for tonight: stock up in the $25–$50 range, share the bottles with food, share them with friends. But also: each year, put away one or two bottles from the names doing serious work — the names you can actually find. Faury's VV. Coursodon's Le Paradis Saint-Pierre. Gripa's Berceau. Pierre-Jean Villa's Préface. Iserand's Lou Taïssou. Jolivet. Buy three of each: drink one early to see where the wine is going, and put two in a corner for ten years. If the trajectory continues — and I think it will — those bottles will be the ones you reach for when someone asks what's really exciting in your cellar.
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Jeff Patten is one of the founders of Flatiron Wines. He has been buying and selling wine, and exploring wine country, for over 20 years, and drinking and collecting it for far longer. He is WSET certified (level 2).